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3 Tips To Keep Employees Motivated & Engaged

I’m not going to be talking about something unheard to all of you: in fact, what I will be talking about is very familiar. It has to do with keeping that fire burning, after a good amount of time has gone by and you feel like you are on a routine. Only in this article, I will be taking the employer’s perspective and what employers should be doing to keep their employees interested, creative and engaged in the operations.

Before I jump into that, let’s address a question to get it started: Why should a company-employer seek to have creative, energetic and engaged employees? What is the ultimate goal?

It is pretty obvious for everyone (I believe) that having employees that love waking up and going to work, will result in greater productivity rates and more innovation. A team of working people doesn’t consist of a leader. If the team isn’t taking a leadership position as a whole, then you aren’t evolving as a company. So it goes without saying, that the results of having happy employees can be fundamental for the success and progress-growth of a company or business.

Now let’s get into the ways you can make this happen, since solving the “routine problem” will result in better results for the company. I think the main complaint employees have nowadays has to do with their position in the company and the way they are compensated. Not so much in regards to the salary they are getting but what that salary really means. Even if someone doesn’t hold a leadership position, that person wants to still make an impact and evolve as a person. So probably a good way for an employer to keep the hardworking people working even harder, is to design specific bonuses and milestone accomplishments that are followed by some kind of positive result. It doesn’t have to be something big. It just needs to be steady. Employees need to satisfy a feeling that they are contributing greatly. And the main way for the employer to show appreciation is by giving a raise or a bonus. Again: it doesn’t need to be huge amounts. We don’t want the company going belly up. But it should definitely be something methodical. By doing something like that, not only are you inspiring the employee but his coworkers as well. They wake up and have something to strive for. The financial disaster of 2008 pretty much took care of the bonuses and raises given. Because of the uncertainty of the times, just being employed made people happy. So that for example, was an inspiring thing of its own.

Besides helping your employees evolve financially (which is very important obviously) you also need to make sure they are evolving as professionals. Spending the time to train them a more advanced skill or taking them to seminars and training them further, will take you far. Although sometimes you may feel like employees being unsatisfied and ungrateful entities of a company, you need to understand that they really aren’t. Everyone works based on psychology and daily motivation. If you don’t have something to motivate them, then you are looking at a company going backwards instead of forward.

Seminars though can become boring even for the employees. So what other techniques can you apply to boost that motivation up? Public recognition is nice. Acknowledging what a detrimental role someone played for an accomplishment, will make that person feel special. But again, it isn’t just about inspiring and motivating him, but the people watching as well. Spend an extra minute to talk with your employee and care for him/her. Believe me, it will bring returns you will be happy with.

What about your ideas? Do you have some tips you would like to share with us based on your experience. Let us know in the comments below! Or if you are too shy to share with the world, send me an e-mail.